This is the fifteenth annual edition of Indicators for a Sustainable San Mateo County report! This report tracks data on 30 different “indicators,” or trends, each of which affects the health and prosperity of our county. It also highlights actions cities in the county are taking to move toward a more sustainable future.
The purpose of this annual report is to stimulate a communitywide dialogue about the long-term health of the county. A reflection of the wide range of issues facing our community, it covers diverse topics such as child care availability and water quality, disaster preparedness and community health. Taken together, each indicator shares a common thread: they all impact the economy, environment, and social equity of our community—the so called “triple bottom line” of sustainability. Propelled by the philosophy that “what gets measured gets managed,” this report aims to both educate the community about sustainability and bring the concept of sustainability into the mainstream of countywide decision making.
Though this is our fifteenth consecutive year in print, each year we add or subtract indicators, based on the availability of data and the level of interest within the community. The exclusion of any indicators that have been analyzed in previous editions does not reflect our belief that those indicators are no longer important, but rather the unavailability of new data or lack of print space to accommodate them.
Individual indicators can be accessed on the menu to the right, or by downloading the full PDF of the report by clicking here.To get a hard-copy of the report call the SSMC office at (650) 638-2323.
Why is This Important?
Local agriculture can provide important economic, environmental, and social benefits to a community. For every dollar of agricultural production in the county, 3.5 dollars of economic activity are created. Locally-grown food maintains its freshness and nutritional value and may reduce transportation-related air pollution and costs. The cultivation and use of native species in landscaping may reduce the need for outdoor irrigation, the largest non-industrial use of water in the county. Adoption of organic farming and landscaping practices is especially important because it reduces the harmful environmental and health effects of pesticides and protects long-term soil quality.
What is a Sustainable State?
A sustainable state is one where agriculture is economically viable for both owners and laborers, and agricultural practices conserve natural resources and biodiversity, maintain healthy soils and ecosystems, and provide food security for local communities.
Why is This Important?
Clean air is essential to human and environmental health. Air pollution increases the risk of lung disease and a variety of other health problems, including asthma, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory problems in children, and certain contaminants can damage terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. By nature, air pollution cannot be contained by local, state, or even national borders, which highlights the importance of larger scale regulation and management of air quality.
What is a Sustainable State?
A sustainable state is one where the air is clean and poses no threat to human health or environmental quality.
Why is This Important?
Healthy children in stable families provide the foundation for a sustainable community. Defenseless themselves, children must grow and learn in a safe environment that only adults can provide. When an adult, particularly an adult with a significant relationship to the child, abuses a child, the abuse can profoundly impact the child’s development. Trauma from child abuse can result in lifelong psychological and social impairment and affect academic and occupational performance.
What is a Sustainable State?
In a sustainable state, instances of child abuse are rare and all children grow up in nurturing and safe environments.
Why is This Important?
The quality of child care and early childhood education influences emotional and cognitive development, including language learning, problem solving, self control, social skills, and school readiness. San Mateo County’s high cost of living makes the availability of affordable and quality child care extremely important as many families have two working parents. Many of the county’s middle- and low-income families do not qualify for state or federal child care subsidies as they earn too much based on guidelines that do not account for regional differences in cost of living.
What is a Sustainable State?
In a sustainable state, there are a variety of child care options available to parents that supply enough diversity, flexibility, and affordability to meet most parental needs.
Why is This Important?
Children’s health impacts all aspects of their lives. Children who are physically fit and well nourished are happier and do better in school. Obese and overweight children are at greater risk of developing health complications, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, later in life. Good mental health in children is the foundation for the same during adult life.
What is a Sustainable State?
A sustainable state is one where the incidence of childhood health problems continues to decrease over time.
Why is This Important?
A contaminated site is property with ground or water pollution that jeopardizes public and environmental health. Contaminated sites can adversely impact a community’s economic vitality because safety regulations restrict current use and future development of the sites while site cleanup is often costly and time consuming. The concentration of contaminated sites in low-income communities is of particular concern as those communities are in the greatest need of available property for housing, jobs, and economic development.
What is a Sustainable State?
In a sustainable state the number of contaminated sites decreases over time and new cases of contamination are identified and remediated promptly.
Why is This Important?
Crime impacts a community’s social and economic wellbeing. High rates of crime discourage neighborhood vitality and economic development. Crime may also impact a local government’s ability to deliver essential public services by diverting resources to increased police enforcement. While violent crimes such as homicide grab the most headlines, lesser crimes such as theft and vandalism weaken the morale and civic engagement of residents. Juvenile crime rates are particularly important indicators as they are strongly correlated with continued criminal activity in adult years.
What is a Sustainable State?
A sustainable state is one where crime rates are low and communities have safe schools and neighborhoods.
Why is This Important?
Natural or human-caused disasters can have devastating effects on a community, the economy, and the environment. Having a plan for your community or your household that provides food, clean water, emergency medical services, temporary shelter, and transportation during emergencies can lessen the impacts of disasters. Government agencies must have plans that enable areas to quickly restore vital services so that the effects from a disaster are not compounded by a lack of power, water, sewer, and/or other services.
What is a Sustainable State?
A sustainable state is one where a community is prepared to meet the emergency needs of all of its members in the event of a disaster.
Why is This Important?
Household income can impact access to health care, good nutrition, and quality housing. High-income households often have access to better schools and live in safer neighborhoods, and children of high-income households are more likely to complete college. Low-income households may have difficulty meeting basic needs, particularly in areas with very high cost of living. Children are especially vulnerable to poverty, as poor nutrition can stunt physical growth and cognitive development.
What is a Sustainable State?
A sustainable state is one where all community members share in the benefits of economic development and income growth and the number of households living in poverty continues to decline over time.
Why is This Important?
A sustainable economy offers a diversified mix of jobs to community members of all skill levels and backgrounds. Job growth in emerging industries is a critical means for expanding a community’s overall economy, and employment spread among a range of industries reduces the potential impacts of economic downturns. Locating jobs close to workers homes may reduce time spent commuting and the environmental impact of single vehicle use.
What is a Sustainable State?
In a sustainable state the number of jobs and number of people seeking employment is in balance and employment is spread among a diverse mix of industries.
Why is This Important?
The unemployment rate is a basic indicator of the economic health of a community. Unemployment rates fluctuate with economic cycles and vary across regions and communities. Unemployed individuals are unable to earn enough money to meet financial obligations and lack employer-sponsored health insurance. They could be at risk of losing their home or being forced into substandard housing, and they have increased risk of social and health problems.
What is a Sustainable State?
In a sustainable state the unemployment rate is low, jobs are available to fit the skills and experience of workers in the community, and the unemployed have access to training and other resources to help them and employment.
Why is This Important?
A good education provides a foundation for children to become productive members of society, obtain high-quality jobs, and contribute towards their community’s general welfare. By providing equal education for all children, schools can play a large role in increasing the overall social equity of a community. Further, a highly skilled and educated workforce will attract new businesses to the area along with new jobs and their associated economic benefits.
What is a Sustainable State?
A sustainable state is one where all children receive an education that equips them with the tools, knowledge, and confidence to fully reach their potential and become productive participants in society.
Why is This Important?
San Mateo County depends on the burning of nonrenewable fossil fuels -- coal, petroleum, and natural gas -- for much of its energy. Burning of fossil fuels negatively impacts air quality and releases significant quantities of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. California has committed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. Increased energy efficiency and an increase in energy sources that do not generate greenhouse gases are keys to achieving this goal. An overreliance on fossil fuels can also make our economy vulnerable to price spikes in the oil or natural gas markets.
What is a Sustainable State?
A sustainable state is carbon neutral, and energy is produced from clean, renewable sources and is used efficiently amongst all user groups.
Why is This Important?
Green building practices seek to minimize the impact of the built environment on our air, water, and land by creating healthier and more resource-efficient buildings. Green buildings reduce solid waste, conserve energy and water, and provide economic benefits by reducing operating costs and enhancing asset values. Well-designed green buildings can also increase worker productivity.
What is a Sustainable State?
In a sustainable state buildings are resource efficient, produce minimal waste, are built with nontoxic substances, have healthy indoor environments, and are located to allow for use of public transportation.
Why is This Important?
Greenhouse gases, including the largest contributor, carbon dioxide (CO2), are the primary cause of climate change. Greenhouse gases enter the atmosphere through nature’s carbon cycle and human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. Human activities are the main driver of increased greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere; global atmospheric concentrations of CO2 are now 30 percent higher than they were before the industrial revolution.
What is a Sustainable State?
In a sustainable state, humans have reduced greenhouse gas emissions to a level that is in balance with nature’s ability to absorb those emissions.
Why is This Important?
San Mateo County is home to a diverse mix of natural habitats, including beach and intertidal zones, coastal sage scrub, chaparral, oak woodlands—even redwood forests. Each of these ecosystems supports its own variety of plants and animals, some of which are endangered or threatened. The availability of and access to these habitats provide a number of benefits to county residents, including tourism, recreation, and increased property values.
What is a Sustainable State?
In a sustainable state ecosystems are healthy and land use decisions include habitat protection.
Why is This Important?
Neighborhood characteristics, social factors, and opportunities to engage in healthy activities are among the most important factors shaping community health. Just as toxic substances in and around homes can directly impact residents’ health, so does the width of sidewalks, proximity to parks and grocery stores, and the availability of affordable housing. Social factors such as class, culture, race, and education are also key drivers determining the amount of stress or security individuals experience.
What is a Sustainable State?
A sustainable state is one where all people have the opportunity to live a healthy and long life and the prevalence of preventable disease decreases over time.
Why is This Important?
Access to affordable, quality health care is necessary for a healthy and productive life. High costs for health insurance, medical treatment, and medications are a deterrent to obtaining proper care and leave less money for other basic needs. Health insurance allows for better access to health care and spreads the cost of care across the community. Deferring care because of cost often leads to more severe illness, further burdening
individuals and the health care system.
What is a Sustainable State?
A sustainable state is one where all members of the community have health insurance that ts their needs and budget.
Why is This Important?
A lack of affordable housing limits the ability of people to live in San Mateo County and can reduce the availability of qualified workers for local businesses. In response to high housing prices, local workers may be forced to live in another county and face long commutes, or pay more than they can comfortably afford for housing. The provision of affordable housing for low and very-low income individuals is of particular importance if community members of all socioeconomic backgrounds are to share in the benefits of job growth and economic development.
What is a Sustainable State?
A sustainable state is one where housing is available and affordable to all members of society and new housing is built to meet projected population and job growth.
Why is This Important?
Homeless individuals lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. Homelessness detracts from an individual’s ability to hold down steady employment and can negatively impact their health and safety. Homelessness among children can impact a child’s ability to succeed in school and maintain relationships with peers.
What is a Sustainable State?
In a sustainable state all residents of a community have access to a safe and permanent residence and temporarily homeless individuals have access to high-quality shelters and support services.
Why is This Important?
Local governments’ land use decisions have far reaching impacts on long-term sustainability. While San Mateo County is largely suburban in its existing land use, future choices about the locations of new housing, businesses, schools, and parks can influence everything from how much residents drive to how healthy their diet is. With many towns and cities in the county fully built-out, the focus of future development in the county will largely be on designing more sustainable in-fill projects that bring residents and businesses into already developed areas.
What is a Sustainable State?
In a sustainable state land use policies accommodate growth, protect open space and agriculture, support local businesses, and encourage increased development in areas that provide residents easy access to public and commercial services, jobs, and transit.
Why is This Important?
Parks and open space enrich a community’s quality of life. Access to and use of parks and open space can improve public health and increase values of nearby property. Parks and open space bring the natural environment closer to each citizen and are also public gathering places that bring people together and build a sense of community. Open space attracts tourism, and safeguards clean air, habitat, and drinking water.
What is a Sustainable State?
A sustainable state is one where parks and open space are abundant, of good quality, and readily accessible to all residents.
Why is This Important?
Widespread use of toxic pesticides can damage human health and the environment. Toxic pesticides can cause cancer or do reproductive or neurological harm. Pesticides applied to homes, gardens, buildings, agriculture, rights of way, and other areas can run off into waterways, polluting water and threatening the health of wildlife. Organic food production and nontoxic or less toxic pest management are viable and proven alternatives to conventional pesticide use.
What is a Sustainable State?
A sustainable state is one where the most toxic pesticides are eliminated from use and nontoxic management practices are widespread.
Why is This Important?
Population is a basic indicator of the health of a community. New residents moving into the county are important drivers of economic growth and can increase social diversity. At the same time, increased population can deplete natural resources, while changing demographics may increase pressure on public services.
What is a Sustainable State?
A sustainable state is one where a community is able to accommodate population growth and changing demographics without negatively impacting quality of life or depleting nonrenewable natural resources.
Why is This Important?
Solid waste generated by households and businesses that is not otherwise diverted, is disposed of in landfills. Landfilled waste is composed of a variety of natural and manmade materials, including wood and green waste, plastic, paper, and cardboard, and food waste. Some of the material contains nonrenewable resources like petroleum products and metals, while renewable materials may be consumed and disposed of at a rate that outpaces nature’s ability to replenish them. Reducing the amount of waste generated in absolute terms is a critical component of balancing resource consumption with resource supply.
What is a Sustainable State?
A sustainable state is one where consumption of renewable resources is in balance with nature’s ability to replenish them and total waste generation declines over time.
Why is This Important?
Motor vehicles are the largest source of pollution in San Mateo County, impacting both air and water quality. On-road transportation accounts for more than half of the county’s total carbon dioxide emissions, a greenhouse gas linked to climate change. High fuel costs can have a major impact on household budgets through direct spending on transportation, and indirect price increases on other goods and services.
What is a Sustainable State?
A sustainable state is one that is carbon neutral and where alternative fuels or modes of transportation are available so that high fuel prices do not severely impact a household’s ability to purchase essential items.
Why is This Important?
The use of internal combustion vehicles has adverse impacts on local and regional environmental quality. Traffic congestion on area roadways reduces worker productivity, causes longer commutes, and induces stress. Choosing alternatives such as public transit, carpooling, walking, and biking, can improve regional air quality, community livability, neighborhood vitality, and public health.
What is a Sustainable State?
In a sustainable state, single occupancy vehicle trips decline over time in favor of alternatives such as public transit, carpooling, walking, and biking.
Why is This Important?
Voting allows residents to participate in communitywide decision making. High voter turnout indicates that citizens are engaged and feel empowered to influence decisions affecting them. High voter participation is essential if public policy is to accurately reflect the will of the people. Low voter turnout can signal disenfranchisement and skew government’s focus toward the desires of those who voted.
What is a Sustainable State?
A sustainable state is one where all community members are able to participate in the democratic process by voting, and governments accommodate all citizens with a variety of registration and voting options.
Why is This Important?
San Francisco Bay to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west border San Mateo County. Both water bodies’ unique aquatic ecosystems are sensitive to onshore activities. Bay and ocean resources support local economies through tourism and fisheries, and provide residents with recreational opportunities. Pollution and degradation of water quality in the Bay or Ocean can adversely impact economic growth through restrictions on development, fines to local governments, or loss of tourism revenues.
What is a Sustainable State?
In a sustainable state the presence of harmful pollutants in water is minimal, and marine habitats are healthy and support native species.
Why is This Important?
Communities need potable water in adequate quantities to accommodate their residential and non-residential needs. San Mateo County has limited sources of local water, however, and relies heavily on the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) to meet much of its water supply. The SFPUC system gets 85 percent of its water from Sierra Nevada snowmelt stored in the Hetch Hetchy reservoir in Yosemite National Park. The remaining 15 percent comes from local Bay Area watersheds. With climate change expected to adversely impact Sierra snowmelt-dependent watersheds like the Hetch Hetchy, growing populations in the Bay Area will compete for a decreasing amount of water.
What is a Sustainable State?
A sustainable state is one where water supplies and demand for water resources are in balance and there is a diversity of supply to reduce the risk of shortages or disruptions from any single source.
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